As the year 2024 ebbs toward the December solstice and fall’s gold folds into our treasured winter, we celebrate the many changes and the talented Moab people who are helping to make it all happen.

First and foremost: Nonprofit Happenings has been following WabiSabi thrift emporium’s shifting sands ever since they announced they would have to move out of their current location March of 2025.

Wabi’s executive director Leah Bear and an avid board have begun to develop a long-term plan. Says Bear: “We are hoping to have a lease signed within a week, two max. It’s been an uphill battle, but we haven’t lost hope….” The new way station Is destined to be a temporary home en route to the ultimate nesting ground, which will hopefully be situated at the neo-nonprofit homestead launched by the Free Health Clinic on 200 South.

As we go to press, the interim perch has yet to be revealed. Says Event Coordinator and staffer Bryce Madrid, “It’s looking positive, and we’re fighting tooth and nail!” Check the air waves and the local news as the saga further unfolds….

And yes, the WabiSabi traditional Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on November 28th, noon till five at Moab’s Grand Center. At press time, Wabi is seeking a bevy of volunteers as Bear looks forward to dishing out turkey dinners to 850 guests. Call WabiSabi at 259-3313 to sign up.

When last we spoke with Kari McKay of the Moab Healthcare Foundation (March 2024 issue), she had been freshly appointed the invaluable nonprofit’s executive director. “It’s brand new, it’s like a blank piece of paper,” McKay said at the time. That’s all over now and, among several projects in the works, the current excitement is largely about the Canyonlands Care Center, in particular, their new “senior magic bus”. The bus is a wheelchair accessible van in which the Care Center’s residents take weekly excursions on roads paved and unpaved to destinations as far off as the General Store in “downtown Cisco” and as near to town as Ken’s Lake. McKay reports that the bus rides bring joy to the residents of the center and cites one 86-year-old senior who commented, “I never miss the weekly rides; they help me reflect on the time I could climb all over these rocks.”

But magic takes money – MHF has been raising funds to support the purchase and maintenance of the magic bus, and they need help to reach their goal of $75,000. To help keep the wheels turning, contact MHF at POB 1014, c/o magic bus, Moab 84532 or donate on line: https://mhfmoab.org/magic-bus/

Dan McNeil, Grand Area Mentoring’s program director, reports that the mentorship orientation on 9/25 was a success (see our September 2024 issue) and the mentoring program now supports 58 “matches”. McNeil looks forward to a second orientation coming up in January. “There are still students needing caring adult attention and we urge interested folks to reach out now,” he writes. Those interested in finding out about becoming a mentor can contact McNeil at 260-9646, or learn more at www.grandmentoring.org.

It was back at the close of 2023 that Canyonlands Field Institute (CFI) announced the selection of Michele Jordan Johnson as “interim executive director” of the venerable organization, which, at age 40, is likely one of Moab’s oldest and most highly regarded nonprofits. More about CFI in future issues of the Moab Happenings.

And watch this space for further updates on Moab’s vibrant nonprofit world.